“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I
have Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Recently I've been experiencing a pretty agonizing flare. A flare is an increase in symptoms by double or more what I'm used to dealing with.
All RA patients experience flares.
I was speaking with a friend just a day or so ago and she said, "The good news is when this flare is over you'll go back to being pain free and your life can get back to normal."
I hated to bust her bubble (and mine) but the reality is I will never be pain free again...not in this life time. I have a debilitating, on-going, life altering disease. Living a life of pain IS my normal.
Recently I've been experiencing a pretty agonizing flare. A flare is an increase in symptoms by double or more what I'm used to dealing with.
All RA patients experience flares.
I was speaking with a friend just a day or so ago and she said, "The good news is when this flare is over you'll go back to being pain free and your life can get back to normal."
I hated to bust her bubble (and mine) but the reality is I will never be pain free again...not in this life time. I have a debilitating, on-going, life altering disease. Living a life of pain IS my normal.
So what?!
Listen,
all of us deal with something.
My mother says, "We each have a bag of rocks we have to tote around."
My bag is RA. Yours may be Cancer or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Eczema or a cheating spouse or a messy house or the heartbreak of Psoriasis...
Heck, your bag of rocks might even be a bag of rocks... who knows?
What I do know is this: Life goes on and I go right along with it. I have to; the alternative is to give up and die, and I'm not ready for that yet.
My mother says, "We each have a bag of rocks we have to tote around."
My bag is RA. Yours may be Cancer or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Eczema or a cheating spouse or a messy house or the heartbreak of Psoriasis...
Heck, your bag of rocks might even be a bag of rocks... who knows?
What I do know is this: Life goes on and I go right along with it. I have to; the alternative is to give up and die, and I'm not ready for that yet.
Look, I'm not lecturing or trying to sound like something I'm not. I'm no Pollyanna. However, despite my circumstances I'm pretty happy with my life.
Why do I tell you all this, you may be wondering, because I don't want anyone to think that I'm sitting around feeling sorry for myself. Nor do I want others feeling sorry for me.
That same friend, whom I mentioned above, also said in an email today, "I just feel so bad for you. You're trapped in that house living a miserable life."
I don't know where she got that idea...but I am neither trapped nor miserable. I'm living large and loving it...
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